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MIAMI -- (November 27, 2003) The Dade County Women's Detention Center prisoners express their solidarity with the protesters of the FTAA. Many of the conditions the protesters found in the jail and detention centers, however horrific, are just examples of what we live with every day. There are many health code and civil right violations in the Dade County jail system. The women prisoners would like the following conditions to be addressed immediately:

1) There is black mold in our showers that cause rashes and breathing problems.

MIAMI, Nov. 24 - We were loading our video equipment into the trunk of our car when a fleet of bicycle cops sped up and formed a semi-circle around us. The lead cop was none other than Miami Police Chief John Timoney. The former Police Commissioner of Philadelphia Timoney has a reputation for brutality and hatred of protesters of any kind. He calls them punks," "knuckleheads" and a whole slew of expletives. He coordinated the brutal police response to the mass-protests at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia in 2000. After a brief stint in the private sector, Timoney took the post of Miami police chief as part of Mayor Manny Diaz's efforts to "clean up the department."

We had watched him the night before on the local news in Miami praising his men for the restraint they had shown in the face of violent anarchists intent on destroying the city. In reality, the tens of thousands who gathered in Miami to protest the ministerial meetings of the Free Trade Area of the Americas summit were seeking to peacefully demonstrate against what they consider to be a deadly expansion of NAFTA and US-led policies of free trade. There were environmental groups, labor unions, indigenous activists from across the hemisphere, church groups, grassroots organizations, students and many others in the streets. What they encountered as they assembled outside the gates to the building housing the FTAA talks was nothing short of a police riot. It only took a few hours last Thursday before downtown Miami looked like a city under martial law. [ Read more... ]

USWA Calls for Congressional Investigation into Police-State Assaults in MiamiPITTSBURGH ? The United Steelworkers of America (USWA) is calling for a Congressional investigation into "a massive police state," created in part with federal funds, to intimidate union members and others critical of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and limit their rights during FTAA meetings in Miami last week.

Citing "countless instances of humiliating repression in which the Miami police force disgraced itself," Gerard said that Miami police chief John Timoney should be fired, all charges against peaceful demonstrators should be dropped, and a Congressional investigation into the Miami police department's systematic repression should immediately be launched. "To do less would be to endorse homeland repression in the guise of homeland security," Gerard's letter concluded. [ Read more... ]

Help spread the word about Miami with this indymedia news sheetThe corporate media has been telling lies about what happened during the protests in Miami. The only place to find out the real story has been indymedia. Help spread the word to the masses! Print out [ this PDF ], make copies and distribute it!

Hi all--below is my report from yesterday in Miami and some breaking news from today, and below that, our appeal for help and solidarity. Please pass it along--right this moment our friends are in jail, facing brutality and torture, and we need your help! Thanks, Starhawk

Miami 11/21/03 Bitter Beauty A strange and hard day. We are all in a bit of shock after yesterday. The Pagan cluster meets for an emotional debrief, very stressed because time is short and we are committed to taking part in the Really, Really Free Market action at noon. We have so much to say and so much emotion to share, grief and rage and shock, but yesterday?s police attacks. Many people in the cluster are new and have not ever experienced anything like it. Some of us have, and each new incident stirs up an old well of grief and anger. Read More...

But if we only stand together, in solidarity and love, we can withstand anything they throw at us. We are one movement, a movement of life, putting down roots and unfurling leaves, and we can and must continue to grow. This week we have seen the possibility of love unfolding in hostile soil. Help us nurture that love and keep it alive.

I just got off the phone with the Mayor's office. I can tell from the exchange with the woman that she is NOT being hit with enough phone calls. We need to en mass express our disgust with the treatment of peaceful protestors. Please please please call NOW.

We are writing you from a completely militarized Miami where individuals exercising heir constitutional rights to peacefully express opposition to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) have been under siege. Since the protest activities begun on Monday, police officers in riot gear have been detaining anyone who "looks like a protester" and doing body searches on individuals simply walking down the street, shooting peaceful protesters with rubber bullets, arresting individuals on trumped up charges and holding them on $10,000 bail. Members of the Citizens Trade Campaign and Public Citizen team here have had police force them face down on the ground and hold rubber bullet guns to their heads. The police have raided several activist information centers and have been circling the CTC offices. We have had reports of legal observers (individuals clearly identified by neon green hats as legal observers trained to do human rights and legal observation during the protests) being beaten, shot at and arrested. I have personally seen a young man on his knees praying alone in front of a police line attacked by riot officers with shields and shot. Meanwhile, the mainstream media is reporting the "excellent job" that Miami police have done in "protecting" the city from "violent protesters." WE NEED YOUR HELP! We need support and solidarity on the ground here to pressure the Miami city government to stop police from intimidating and harassing protesters and to drop trumped up charges and release the individuals in jail. [ Read more... ]

Word from Miami Activist DefenseThe actions of the Miami Police Department this week have violated the fundamental due process and first Amendment rights of thousands of peaceful protesters gathering to voice their opposition to the FTAA summit. Take some time now and CALL the Mayors, the city attorney, police chief Timoney and others responsible for these gross violations. Demand a full-scale, independent investigation into the police officers' alarming behavior. [ Read more... ]

The FTAA protests in miami are a good example of why ALL Americans (North, Central, & South) should recognize what they are up against - An autocratically imposed mechanism( to accelerate transfer of wealth from many to a few) that has been designed by a few unresponsive, unelected people; a mechanism that will be enforced and protected with violent force by existing quasi-legitamite government entities, while those same government entities will lie about the mechanism as freely as they lie to silence opposition.

As top trade officials from 34 nations negotiated the extention of the "free trade" agreements binding North America to the rest of the continent, protesters, also in Miami, Florida, took to the streets in a massive display of opposition to the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) pact. The demonstrations, ranging from civil disobedience to a large permitted march organized by the AFL-CIO, were met with police intimidation, unlawful restriction of the right to protest, and violence.

Beginning on Wednesday, when 9 people were arrested by undercover officers while walking down the street, the police began a strategy of random arrests and confiscation of legal possessions of those who fit what the police believe to be the demonstrator "profile". During protests today, that tactic expanded as the police violently apprehended march participants and dragged them behind police lines. Often these officers were dressed in civilian clothes, or even dressed as demonstrators. Seven people living in an abandoned house were arrested, as the police declared that their bicycle tubes were in fact sling shot weapons, despite no evidence to support that claim. [ Read more... ]

Solidarity Statement of SOA, FTAA & Bush Protests We, The Stop the War Coalition in London, England, The Mobilization to Stop the FTAA in Miami, Florida (U.S.) and the School of the Americas Watch Movement in Columbus, Georgia (U.S.), are mobilizing tens of thousands of people this week in the United Kingdom and the United States to hold our governments accountable. Our struggles are interconnected and we organize in solidarity with each other. [ Read more... ]

This week George W. Bush faces a week of intense, non-stop protests. But you would never realize the importance or significance of these events if you relied on the corporate media or even the so called "alternative" or "progressive" media.

On November 17, 2003, in solidarity with those in Miami and around the world protesting the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the Lewis and Clark Organization for Peace and Politics and the Campus Greens held a Symposium on the harmful effects of free trade. Two speakers, Martin Hart-Landsberg, professor of economics at Lewis and Clark, and Barbara Dudley, professor of Political Science at Portland State University gave presentations on the FTAA and then took questions.

On Saturday, Nov 15, five activists (including two from the Pagan cluster) were arrested in Miami for the crime of leafletting, that is, peaceful organizing for the upcoming anti-FTAA mobilization. Urgent support action is needed.

* pre-emptive arrest of dissenters must stop right now;
* the charges against these five people are without merit and should be dropped immediately;
* the City of Miami is expected to behave like a democracy!

Local, grassroots groups representing communities of color have been taking an active role in resisting corporate globalization. The Root Cause is releasing a Community Impact Report, outlining the impacts of free trade policies on poor communities and communities of color in South Florida.

Overall, the air is buzzing with excitement. New people arrive everyday and immerse themselves in organizing, learning new things and meeting new people working to create a wonderful community. Florida activists have set up a Free Carnival Area of the Americas, building puppets for the protests and using education, art, and action to create positive change. Two streaming IMC radio projects have been set up, and print and video working groups are also active.

Many people associated with Indymedia are preparing to cover the FTAA/ALCA Ministerial meeting in Miami this coming November. Several work groups have been formed to coordinate different aspects of our effort. Since Indymedia is an all volunteer collective, to cover this historic moment in history, we are in need of funds to pay for the costs of computer, video and web radio hardware, Internet access and a public convergence space.

Please help us out by making a tax-deductible online donation of any amount, using your Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Bank debit card. You have two options:

This THURSDAY, SEPT. 25, the Miami City Commission will most likely pass an ordinance banning the use and possession of a variety of items related to peaceful protests, demonstrations and protest marches. This includes puppets and other props; street theater masks; signs on sticks; cameras (still and video; used to record the actions of overzealous police); padded clothing (for protection against police truncheons and dogs); bullhorns; gas masks of any kind, including bandannas (used for protection against tear-gas and other dangerous chemical agents often used indiscriminately and recklessly by police), and much more.

The ordinance, which will take effect when passed and expire on Thursday, Nov. 27, is clearly aimed at stifling the voices of the tens of thousands of people - students, union members, activists, peasant farmers and many other types of individuals - from around the Americas and the world who will be coming to South Florida to protest at the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) meeting to be held from Nov. 17-21 in Miami.

It's important that concerned citizens immediately contact Miami city officials to voice their opposition to this draconian, unconstitutional measure.Tell them you're contacting them to express your opposition to this ordinance which strips away free speech rights - refer to it the parades and demonstrations ordinance; if they ask what you mean, tell them it's item J-O3-772 on the Sept. 25 City Commission agenda, which would add section 6.1 to Chapter 54 of the City of Miami municipal code

On November 20 and 21 the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) will meet at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Miami to unilaterally finalize their vision of an economic policy that threatens the freedom and well being of every living being in this hemisphere. Although ordinary people will not be allowed into the meetings to offer their input, we will be in the streets to welcome them. All will be put at risk by the outcome of these meetings, save for an obscene minority who have seized control of capital and corporate power. The FTAA is working to give this small group of billionaires and corporations power over people and governments. The FTAA threatens to absorb both North and South America into a homogeneous market, where transnational corporations will be empowered to successfully challenge any regulation, policy or procedure which runs contrary to their ideal of increased profit at any expense, human or otherwise.

ILWU Local 5 Strike Fund Benefit: Rock Out to Walk OutFrom the open publishing newswire: What: Strike Fund Benefit: Rock Out to Walk Out (all ages show) Where: Disjecta (116 NE Russell) When: Friday April 18th 8-midnight Who: Performances by: ConSOLIDated, Crack City Rockers, Ma Ford, The Mouse that Roared, The Incredible Kid and DJ Anjali, Pleasure Holiday, Sonsa dn Lovers, Kevin Sampsell, and Steffen Silvis How Much: $5 at the door. There will be drinks (beer, wine, soda) and food for sale [ Read More... ]FTAA(miami) anti-capitalist consultaFrom the open publishing newswire: This is a call for an anti-capitalist coordinating/planning meeting to begin preparations for actions against the FTAA ministerial meeting being held in Miami, Florida on November 20-22, 2003. We hope that this consulta will be an opportunity to build a broad based, diverse anti-capitalist response to the ministerial. Within the framework of creative militant action we hope to create new models of resistance that strengthen and revitalize our anti-capitalist/anti-authoritarian community. [ Read More... ]Bush Attacking the Great Divide!From the open publishing newswire: The Great Divide - Southern Wyoming's Vast Desert Lands The BLM's Great Divide area takes in 3.5 million acres of public land stretching across southern Wyoming, a vast and windswept landscape that includes half of the Red Desert. Wildlands with sculpted badlands, an island mountain range with untouched lodgepole pine forests, and the largest active sand dune field in North America all fall within the Great Divide. The area also holds important habitats for wild horses, elk and rare or sensitive animals such as ferruginous hawks, mountain plovers, and black-footed ferrets. We Have a Chance to Save these Wild Wide-Open Desert Lands The Bush Administration and the BLM are revising the Great Divide's Management Plan. While the administration's goal is to ramp up drilling, they have a responsibility to protect the region's irreplaceable wildlife and landscapes. So each of us, as American citizens and partial owners of these lands, now has a job to pressure the BLM to uphold this responsibility. [ Read More... ]Administration gutting NF Management Act-- Comment s Due April 4!From the open publishing newswire: This Bush Administration proposal to gut the National Forest Management Act , if implemented, will lead to the widespread removal of environmental protections, as well as severely restricting public input. The deadline for comments was extended to April 4! Sample letters can be cut and pasted-- this is really nasty-- many times they have tried to get this through over the years... Please at least email by going to the website. [ Read More... ]